Russia has told the United States it intends to launch a new wave of long-range strikes on Kyiv, including targets it describes as “decision-making centres”, in a warning that has heightened diplomatic tensions over the war in Ukraine.
According to a Russian Foreign Ministry readout, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov informed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in a phone call on May 25 that Moscow would begin what it called “systematic and consistent strikes” on the Ukrainian capital.
The Kremlin urged Washington to consider evacuating its embassy staff from Kyiv in anticipation of the escalation.
The call followed earlier Russian announcements indicating preparations for renewed mass missile and drone attacks on Ukrainian military infrastructure, which Moscow said were in response to Ukrainian strikes in occupied Luhansk Oblast. Ukraine has disputed Russia’s account of the incident, saying its forces targeted a Russian drone command facility in the area.
Lavrov’s warning to Rubio marked a notable escalation in rhetoric, with Moscow again suggesting foreign diplomatic missions should leave Kyiv. Russia has issued similar advisories in the past, though most embassies have remained operational throughout the war.
Following the conversation, Rubio said he had relayed Lavrov’s message to US President Donald Trump, telling reporters that he had briefed the President directly on the content of the call.
He added: “Kyiv has been a dangerous place for a number of years. The danger in all these wars, as they continue and go on, is that they always carry the threat of escalation… of spreading into something new.”
European officials, however, moved to downplay the Russian warning, signalling they would maintain their presence in the Ukrainian capital. Katarina Mathernova, the European Union’s ambassador to Ukraine, said the bloc “is not going anywhere”, adding: “We stay in Kyiv. We stay with Ukraine.”
The exchange came a day after one of Russia’s largest missile and drone assaults on Kyiv in recent months, which killed at least two people and injured more than 80 across multiple districts of the capital.
In its statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said foreign nationals, including diplomats, should leave the city and advised Ukrainian civilians to avoid what it called “military and administrative infrastructure of the Zelensky regime”.
Ukrainian officials have accused Moscow of using the language of “retaliation” to justify sustained strikes on civilian areas. President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously warned that Russia may attempt to expand its targeting of government buildings in Kyiv, including the presidential administration.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Western allies not to be intimidated by Moscow’s warnings, calling for increased military assistance and sanctions in response. “Putin must understand that he will achieve nothing through military means,” he said.
Despite the rhetoric, Russia has so far largely avoided direct strikes on the most heavily protected government buildings in central Kyiv, though it continues to target infrastructure across the capital.
The latest warning has nonetheless raised concern among Western diplomats, even as most embassies have indicated they will remain in place.
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